South Main neighborhood reacts to Phil Trenary killing with sorrow and resilience

The president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce was killed Thursday night in a shooting on South Front Street in Downtown Memphis.
Jason Munz, Southern Miss Sports Writer

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South Main resident Tawanda Pirtle sits outside Bluff City Coffee on Main Street downtown with owner Dave Adams on Friday morning as they discuss the shooting death of Phil Trenary, which took place right around the corner from their morning coffee.(Photo11: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

"It's devastating," the Jack Pirtle's Chicken owner said of the loss of the CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.

But the horrific act of violence smack in the middle of her usually safe neighborhood didn't scare her away from her morning routine, including a stroll down the street and a cappuccino at Bluff City Coffee.

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Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Memphis first responders work the scene where a police chase lead to a series of accidents near the intersection of Mississippi Blvd and East McLemore Avenue on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

Leftover police tape lays along the sidewalk of South Front Street where Phil Trenary, head of the Greater Memphis Chamber, was killed in a shooting on Thursday night. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal

Mark Guyton, who has known Phil Trenary for years, visits the downtown location on South Front Street Friday morning where Trenary was killed in a shooting on Thursday night. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal,

The shooting death occurred on Front Street, one block over from South Main Street, the night before the South Main Association celebrates the 18th birthday of Trolley Night, a monthly event in which businesses stay open late and people flock to the neighborhood.

Pirtle said her plans remain the same, to have dinner with friends and welcome newcomers to her neighborhood.

She doesn't expect Thursday night's tragedy to cause anyone to view Downtown or South Main differently, either.

"I never thought it to be a reflection on our neighborhood or anything like that," she said.

Still, the violence was the talk of the street Friday morning.

"We all knew who he was," Bluff City Coffee owner Dave Adams said of Trenary.

Pinnacle Airlines President Phil Trenary addresses hundreds of employees, downtown supporters and officials during a celebration commemorating his company's move to its new headquarters at One Commerce Square on Oct. 8, 2010. File/The Commercial Appeal

March 15, 2011 - Pinnacle Airlines President and CEO Phil Trenary reflects on his 14 years with Pinnacle during an interview Tuesday afternoon about his decision to step down as head of the Memphis based airline. File photo/The Commercial Appeal

March 15, 2011 - Pinnacle Airlines President and CEO Phil Trenary reflects on his 14 years with Pinnacle during an interview Tuesday afternoon about his decision to step down as head of the Memphis based airline. File photo/The Commercial Appeal

March 15, 2011 - Pinnacle Airlines President and CEO Phil Trenary reflects on his 14 years with Pinnacle during an interview Tuesday afternoon about his decision to step down as head of the Memphis based airline. File photo/The Commercial Appeal

March 15, 2011 - Pinnacle Airlines President and CEO Phil Trenary reflects on his 14 years with Pinnacle during an interview Tuesday afternoon about his decision to step down as head of the Memphis based airline. File photo/The Commercial Appeal

October 27, 2015 - Phil Trenary (center), President and CEO, Greater Memphis Chamber, listens to David Porter, President and Founder, Consortium Memphis Music Town, as he leads a tour of the Consortium's Talent Development Complex at 119 S. Main St. Tuesday. "The future of this city lives in its young," David Porter said. "I'm so proud of the young people of this city." (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) File photo/The Commercial Appeal

November 19, 2014 - Phil Trenary (left) and Carolyn Hardy were among those who spoke to the Shelby County Commission during an economic development session at a retreat held at the University of Memphis Fogelman Executive Center. (Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal) File photo/The Commercial Appeal

October 27, 2015 - (From left to right) - Diane Rudner, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Plough Foundation, David Porter, Founder and President, Consortium Memphis Music Town, Mike Bruns, Founder and former president of Comtrak, Phil Trenary, President and CEO, Greater Memphis Chamber, and George Monger, Vice President and Executive Director, Consortium Memphis Music Town, have a ribbon cutting ceremony during the opening of the Consortium's Talent Development Complex at 119 S. Main St. Tuesday. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) File photo/The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Phil Trenary (left) jokes with Ikea's Real Estate Manager Reed Lyons and Expansion Public Affairs Manager Joseph Roth (right) after a press conference in December 2014 in the Hall of Mayors to announce that a new Ikea store is planned for the Wolfchase area. File photo/The Commercial Appeal

Northwest Airlink president Phil Trenary deplanes the Spirit of Memphis in this 1998 file photo just prior to take-off Wednesday as his airline gets back up and running following Northwest Airlines strike. File photo/The Commercial Appeal

Downtown Memphis Commission President Jennifer Oswalt said the area included in the Downtown precinct for Memphis Police is considered one of the safest in Memphis.

"We do think this is an isolated incident that is so tragic, and we really can't even comprehend it because we haven't felt that presence," Oswalt said.

The commission will hold a community meeting in the near future to allow residents to express any concerns, she said.

Blue Monkey restaurant owner Mike Johnson called the crime "sad and senseless" and said there was a state of shock in the neighborhood.

Johnson said he wasn't at the restaurant when the shooting happened just a few hundred feet from his parking lot, but he heard about it from an employee.

"I certainly don't remember anything of this nature happening down here," he said.

The neighborhood has exploded over the past five years with new development, including hundreds of new apartments and a seven-screen movie theater under construction at the corner of GE Patterson Avenue and Front.

Johnson said residents are attracted to the area for the walkability. But after Trenary was reportedly killed while walking along Front, "this certainly disrupts that," he said.

Johnson said he tells employees not to leave the building alone at night as a precaution.

At the time of the shooting, however, just before 8 p.m., there are usually people in the area, Johnson noted.

"At that time at night, it's hustle and bustle down here," he said.

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Leftover police tape lays along the sidewalk of South Front Street where Phil Trenary, head of the Greater Memphis Chamber, was killed in a shooting on Thursday night. (Photo11: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

Johnson said he didn't expect the shooting to have an effect on the neighborhood, although it would be on everyone's mind for a while.

"I think everybody was talking about it when they got here this morning," he said.

Michigan resident Peter Douglass was in Memphis on Thursday night with his father, Ron Douglass, when he heard about the shooting while having a drink at The Green Beetle restaurant on Main.

They were staying in an Airbnb on Front, but weren't scared away by what happened.

"Nah, I'm from Detroit," Peter Douglass said.

"It doesn't change anything as far as I'm concerned," his father said.

Pirtle said she expects the tragedy to bring the neighborhood and the city together.

"Anytime we lose anybody, it's a tough day," she said.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.